Update 2025-01-31: Clean New, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers; Sugar Creek finally OK 2025-01-29.
As Valdosta Utilities Director Jason Barnes promised Friday, results from the Valdosta water quality samples that day are on the city’s website.
There’s good news and bad news.
![[Cleaner but still dirty, Sugar Creek 2025-01-24, Baytree Road bad, Gornto Road worse]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-01-24--wq/fbmany.jpg)
Cleaner but still dirty, Sugar Creek 2025-01-24, Baytree Road bad, Gornto Road worse
The good news is: E. coli counts at Gornto Road are down to 2,500 from 8,900 cfu/100 mL a week before. Continue reading
These are the slides that Debra Lorence wanted to present at the Valdosta City Council meeting, November 21, 2024.
![[Stormwater flooding on Post Pointe Circle @ VCC 2024-11-21, Jennifer Verrastro, Debra Lorence]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-12-04--jennifer-verrastro-ppt/fbmany.jpg)
Stormwater flooding on Post Pointe Circle @ VCC 2024-11-21, Jennifer Verrastro, Debra Lorence
You can see what she said
at 32:10 in Valdosta’s own video,
as one of many people who complained about flooding.
https://www.facebook.com/CityofValdosta/videos/446513611510950/
Her slides are on the WWALS website in PowerPoint and PDF.
On the left in slide 2 is a culvert under North Valdosta Road (US 41) next to their property. On the right is a much smaller pipe under their property. Continue reading
Update 2024-07-05: Bad Franks Creek, unknown rivers, after much rain 2024-07-03.
The Withlacoochee River tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday, and the Santa Fe River for Monday.
Retesting upstream and downstream from the previous One Mile Branch Valdosta Williams Street anomolous results found little to no E. coli.
No sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.
The rivers are almost all down to good boating and fishing levels; maybe too low in some areas.
There was rain on the Withlacoochee River in several places over several days, so some contamination may have washed in.
Other than that, happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!
![[Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, but rain 2024-06-27]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-06-27--wq/many.jpg)
Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, but rain 2024-06-27
Cindy Vedas tested three upstream Withlacoochee sites Thursday.
For Franklinville Road at Tyler Bridge, she got Continue reading
In yet another week with no rain, the rivers were clean: the Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers. Not so clean was Sugar Creek that runs into the Withlacoochee River, but even that was below the 410 cfu/100 mL one-time test E. coli limit. That’s 14 WWALS test sites on three rivers and one creek in two states. Good baselines for later when there is contamination.
No rain is predicted for this weekend.
In the last week, no new sewage spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
So happy swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend!
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-11-02]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-11-02--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-11-02
Joanne Tremblay got clean results for the Santa Fe River at High Springs Ramp @ US 41 and at US 27.
Reina Lingle got clean results for the Suwannee River at Ivey Metropolitan Park in Branford and at Royal Springs.
Kimberly Tanner says about the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach, “Great results at both locations this week. And both areas were as clean as a whistle, too.”
Cindy Vedas got good results for the Withlacoochee River at Franklinville, Crawford Branch (yes, really), Staten Road, and US 41 (North Valdosta Road), with trash at US 41.
WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall tested Sugar Creek, and got too-high results, but clean at Knights Ferry and Nankin Boat Ramps on the Withlacoochee River. She also double-checked everybody else’s results. And the other testers cross-checked each others’ results.
Russ Tatum got clean results for the Withlacoochee River at Holly Point, between Allen Ramp and the Suwannee River.
WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman delivered testing supplies to several testers. She is also our testing trainer.
If you want to get trained to be a WWALS water quality tester, please fill out the form:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084
The most recent Valdosta results we have are for Wednesday upstream, which were good. As usual, Valdosta’s last week upstream results corroborated what WWALS saw Thursday last week.
And, as previosly noted, Valdosta’s last downstream tests were September 1, 2023. Continue reading
Update 2023-11-03: Clean rivers, dirty Sugar Creek 2023-11-02.
This was another week with no rain, and the rivers were mostly clean: the Withlacoochee, Santa Fe, and Suwannee Rivers. Not clean were Franks Creek that runs into the Little River and Sugar Creek that runs into the Withlacoochee River. Crawford Creek of the Withlacoochee was just below the E. coli one-time test limit. That’s 11 WWALS test sites on three rivers and three creeks in two states.
No rain is predicted for this weekend.
In the last week, no new sewage spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
So happy swimming, boating, and fishing this weekend!
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-10-26]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-10-26--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-10-26
Joanne Tremblay got clean results at High Springs Ramp @ US 41 and at US 27, both on the Santa Fe River.
Reina Lingle got very clean results at Ivey Metropolitan Park in Branford and at Royal Springs, both on the Suwannee River.
New WWALS tester Debbie Smith got too-high results for Franks Creek at GA 122 just west of Hahira. Which is interesting, because that is upstream of Hahira’s Land Application Site.
Cindy Vedas got good results at Franklinville, Crawford Branch (well, OK results there), Staten Road, and Langdale Park, on the Withlacoochee River. She photographed the trash still at Langdale Park Boat Ramp from at the WWALS Langdale Park Withlacoochee River Cleanup of last Saturday. I will nudge Lowndes County Public Works to pick it up.
WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall tested Sugar Creek, and got too-high results. She also double-checked everybody else’s results. And the other testers cross-checked each others’ results.
If you want to get trained to be a WWALS water quality tester, please fill out the form:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084
The most recent Valdosta results we have are for Monday upstream, which were good. As usual, Valdosta’s last week upstream results corroborated what WWALS saw Thursday last week.
And, as previosly noted, Valdosta’s last downstream tests were September 1, 2023. Continue reading
Update 2023-10-11: Entrance cleared to Langdale Park Boat Ramp 2023-10-10.
Update 2023-09-29: Mostly Clean Rivers 2023-09-28.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Yesterday I thought it would be faster and easier to collect a water quality sample at Langdale Park, rather than drive through the high grass on the way below the U.S. 41 bridge, or to walk on busy US 41 to throw a bucket into the Withlacoochee River.
I briefly forgot Hurricane Idalia had been here. Not surprisingly, clearing deadfalls in a park has not been high priority.
![[Deadfalls on Langdale Park entrance road and Withlacoochee River 2023-09-28]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-09-28--langdale-park/many.jpg)
Deadfalls on Langdale Park entrance road and Withlacoochee River 2023-09-28
I have reconstructed the right rear bumper of my Prius. But I recommend doing what the next pair of visitors did: stop before the first entrance road deadfall and walk in.
Langdale Park Boat Ramp is at 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, in Lowndes County.
And before you ask, the cleared area along the entrance road as you go in was never part of the park. It is privately owned and is being prepared for a subdivision. Continue reading
Update 2023-09-15: No water quality test results this week; Adel sewage spill two weeks ago 2023-09-14.
Update 2023-09-09: Upstream Alapaha River results.
In samples taken Thursday, WWALS testers found the Withlacoochee River filthy upstream of the Little River Confluence, at Franklinville, US 41, and GA 133.
FYI: Franklinville is upstream from Valdosta, so it’s not them this time.
So it’s a good thing we cancelled tomorrow’s Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup on the Withlacoochee River.
The Little River and the Alapaha River tested clean.
Update 2023-09-09: Except at the outflow creek from the Alapaha, GA, WWTP, where Heather Brasell got way-too-high 1,900 E. coli. However, she got zero for the Alapaha River just upstream from Sheboggy Boat Ramp at US 82; can’t get much better than that.
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-09-07]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-09-07--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-09-07
On the Little River, the Withlacoochee River downstream of the Little River Confluence, and the Alapaha River, happy swimming, fishing, and boating, as long as you don’t mind the rivers being high and fast.
We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers.
Maybe you’d like to become one.
Sign up here:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084
Three new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia, all from Continue reading
Update 2023-08-29: 8,400 gallons of sewage into Dukes Bay Canal, Valdosta, GA, due to unknown obstruction 2023-08-28.
No rain for a week means clean Withlacoochee River, and that’s what WWALS testers found for Thursday.
Crawford Creek was too high in E. coli, but Staten Road and US 41 downstream on the Withlacoochee River were clean, with Franklinville Road pretty clean upstream.
![[Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-24]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-08-24--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-24
We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers.
Maybe you’d like to become one.
https://wwals.net/2018/11/16/sign-up-for-water-quality-testing-training/
Only one new sewage spill has been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida: Continue reading
Update 2023-08-25: Clean Withlacoochee River 2023-08-24.
2023-08-23: Valdosta spilled 15,000 gallons of wastewater into Knights Creek 2023-08-22.
After Valdosta’s sky-high Wednesday upstream Withlacoochee River results, WWALS got much better results upstream and down for Thursday samples on the Withlacoochee River plus the Little River. Even the usual problem creeks, Crawford and Sugar, were pretty clean. WWALS Alapaha River Wednesday results were very clean.
We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers.
Maybe you’d like to become one.
There’s a testing training coming up August 25th at Suwannee River State Park:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084
No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
There has been no rain today to wash more contamination into the rivers and creeks.
We already rescheduled tomorrow’s Withlacoochee River paddle: Re-reschedule Retry Sugar Creek to Troupville Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-09-02.
But so far as we can see in the test results, happy swimming, fishing, and paddling on the rivers this weekend.
![[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-17]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-08-17--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-08-17
The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Friday before last downstream.
For Wednesday Valdosta got way too-high results for US 41, GA 133, and US 84.
Thanks to WWALS testers Cindy and David Vedas for testing Continue reading
Franklinville Road on the Withlacoochee River above Valdosta was above the one-time test limit for E. coli, as was Crawford Branch, plus Sugar Creek which drains most of Valdosta was even higher, in WWALS sampling for Thursday.
We are still short-handed for WWALS volunteer water quality testers.
Maybe you’d like to become one; please fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/DzWvJuXqTQi12N6v7
No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.
There has been no rain in the past few days to wash contamination into the rivers and creeks.
Some got in there anyway.
So I’d avoid the upper reaches of the Withlacoochee River, at least avoid above the Little River Confluence.
Maybe you’d like to join us tomorrow morning on to paddle Naylor to Mayday on the Alapaha River. Beware: this paddle has many shoals, and is for experts.
![[Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide 2023-08-10]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-08-10--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, River and Creeks, Swim Guide 2023-08-10
The Sugar Creek result may be due to ongoing effects from Valdosta’s July 17th 6,000 gallon sewage spill into Hightower Creek “behind the Target,” reported as at 1700 block River Street. We have no new Valdosta test results related to that spill.
The most recent results we have from Valdosta are for Wednesday upstream and Friday downstream.
For Wednesday Valdosta got too-high results for US 41, Continue reading